


Specters: The Dawn of a New Order

by Gods_and_Punks



Series: Specters: The Dawn of a New Order [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Fan theories, Hiatus fic, dawn syndulla (fandom character), force theories, more tags as chapters develop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-02-06 05:52:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12811038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gods_and_Punks/pseuds/Gods_and_Punks
Summary: 10 years ago, Kanan Jarrus disappeared in the Battle of Yavin 4.  Now he's returned, free to live happily with the love of his life and their beautiful daughter.  But when a darkness starts hanging over them, he realizes that the Force returned him for a reason and that his daughter has an important destiny.





	1. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To protect her daughter from those who want to see the permanent end of the Jedi, Hera had to set up shop on the cesspool of the galaxy, Tatooine. It's a rough life having to deal with gangsters and thugs, especially as the single parent of a Force-sensitive daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT [June 9, 2018]: Fixed some grammar/spelling/missing word errors, and updated some descriptors!!
> 
> Also, I'm not posting this on my new blog, so please check out gods-and-punks.tumblr.com!

The twin suns of Tatooine beat down with an unholy fury on the sandstone buildings of Mos Zabu. It was a small settlement not on the main list of tourist traps and trade plazas, so it didn’t see much by way of through-traffic - Imperial or otherwise. It was home to a few on-world traders, some legitimate business owners, several ruffians who fancied themselves a mafia, and a couple of mechanic’s shops. In fact, about the only thing this sleepy, dusty little town had going for it was one of the best all-purpose repair shops on the planet. It was common to see any number of farm-machines, landspeeders, and even droids being taken in for repairs on any given day.

“Looks like the repulsors are shot...” The twei’lek woman muttered, extracting herself from underneath the custom landspeeder. The thing looked a wreck, but not the “dust-storm” induced kind that the owner had explained. The damage was focused and showed burn-marks, as if some blaster fire had taken the thing out, and then it tumbled a few times when the anti-grav failed.

“So can ya’ fix it, _Mrs. Dume_?” The man looked as shady as the damage on his landspeeder.

“Yes, it’ll take a couple of days to get the parts but-”

“Now it’s not _really_ gonna’ take a coupl’a days? _Right?_ ” The man, pulled his long brown coat aside to put his hand in his pant pocket, slyly revealing a blaster at his hip, “Because bad things might start to happen if I have to wait too long.”

 _Bastard._ Hera bit back a sneer. She knew full-well that she could have taken him. She’d seen worse fights and stronger enemies, but that wasn’t the point. They had to lay low, and kicking the ass of the second in command of the local gang wasn’t the way to do it. “O-Of course. I’ll have it done by tomorrow morning.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want somethin’ _unpleasant_ t’happen to that pretty little girl of yours.” The rough-looking man motioned to the little girl who thought she was out of sight behind a stack of equipment and spare parts. He shot a cocky glance at Hera before turning to leave. “There are plenty of folks who’ll take a Twi girl, no matter what age.”

A fire burned white-hot in Hera. She hated this place with every fiber of her being. She was a general in the Rebel Alliance, she’d fought and won so many battles. But that was the point. She was nobody here and using a name that wasn’t hers, just so that she couldn’t be traced to the Rebellion, and so those that might hurt Dawn couldn’t find her.

She turned to follow the girl who’d slunk back into the flat attached to the repair shop. “Dawn. Come here, we need to talk...”

* * *  
Dawn sat on a small sofa with her mother kneeling in front of her. “Mom, why do we let them talk to us like that?”

Hera cringed. “Dawn. It’s complicated.”

The young girl hung her head. “It’s my fault, isn’t it? It’s because I have the Force.”

Hera put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders reassuringly and looked her in the eye, “That’s only part of the reason Dawn. I was-”

“I knew it! But if I’m ‘force-sensitive’, like Ezra said, then why can’t I be strong like him?!!” Hera recognized the pained anger in her daughter’s eyes, and it made her heart ache.

“Dawn, you can be. But you’re still young. Ezra has been training for a long time, and has seen many battles. But even he wouldn’t try and take on the thugs in this town alone.”

 _But he would if Kanan were here._ Hera thought, as she stood to give her daughter some space.

“So why can’t Ezra train me? I want to be a Jedi!” Dawn leapt to her feet, fists at her side. 

Hera saw her daughter’s resolution. There was nothing she could do to stop Dawn from following in her father’s footsteps, but she could try and encourage her to wait until she was older. “Dawn, Ezra can’t stay with us.”

“How come?”

“Because he has duties of his own to take care of. Besides, it’s dangerous having you both in the same place.” Hera turned away to go to the garage, hiding her emotions from her daughter in the process.

“Why?”

“Because there are people who don’t want the Jedi to return. They would hurt you, or try and take you away.”

“But if Ezra were here, we could fight them off!”

“Dawn, that’s just not an option. And no, he couldn’t. He’s not even a full Jedi. If your father were here-” Hera cut herself off, shocked at the words that had slipped through her mouth before she could stop them.

“Mom?”

“I’m sorry Dawn. I need to finish the repairs on the landspeeder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm hyped?! and kind'a pouring out chapters while I have the energy and free time to write on it. It's slow-burning right now, but honestly I think it's important to develop the situation through the characters' emotions. I don't know, tell me how you feel.


	2. Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn knows that her mother is doing her best to protect and provide for her family, but she just wishe that she could protect her mother for a change. When a strange object falls from the night sky, what she finds at the bottom of the crater might just be the key to getting her wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT [June 9, 2018]: Edited for grammar/spelling/missing word errors, and updates some descriptions.

Hera worked late into the night, leaving Dawn once again to fend for herself within the confines of the flat. She knew her mom was trying her best, but she couldn’t stand seeing her pushed around by the thugs in town all the time. She saw how it ate at her mom, and how much it hurt her to have to swallow the anger and just take their threats and cruelty.

Dawn set about making some dinner. She’d learned how to cook at a young age, in order to make sure her mom would actually eat when she had work. Which, being the top mechanic in the area, was always. She brought a plate out to the garage and left it on the table by the door, not saying a word. She knew her mother would come eat when her hands weren’t full, and that mentioning it would just make her mother feel bad for yet again having to work instead of taking care of her daughter.

They each ate in separate rooms, Hera in the garage, and Dawn in the living room. As she sat, watching out the small window carved into the wall, Dawn couldn’t help but feel helpless in everything. She couldn’t protect her mom from the thugs in town, she couldn’t teach herself how to be a Jedi, and Dawn new that her mom needed to clear her head, so she couldn’t go help with the landspeeder. _Dad must have been amazing... Mom really misses him. I wish i could be like him._

Just then, a star shot down from the sky. Dawn threw her plate off her lap and ran to the window just in time to see a bright pure-white light flash at ground level somewhere off in the desert, past the horizon. “What was that?! Hey Chop!” The girl spun on her heels to get ahold of her mother’s droid. “Hey Chop what do you think that was?”

The droid retorted sarcastically, something to the tune of ‘Nothing good, I’m sure’.

“Yeah well, I’m gonna go find out! I’ve got a good feeling!” And she did. She couldn’t explain it, but something _felt_ right - like she was supposed to go find whatever it was that just hit the ground. She snuck out the backdoor, Chopper following shortly behind, and complaining loudly. “Oh hush Chopper, you’re gonna get us caught,” Dawn chided in a hushed tone.

The astromech droid scoffed something like ‘Yeah, that’s the point.’

Dawn had spent most of her childhood in this dusty, little town, so she knew exactly how to duck into alleys and behind buildings to avoid the crowds, and especially the gangsters that hung around and “patrolled” in the dark. Once she was past the town’s edge, she was free. She didn’t get to go this far very often, but being surrounded by just desert and sky made her feel at peace. She remembered being told that the Force connected all living things, and looking up at the night sky, not occluded by city lights or ships, made her believe it.

The further they got, the louder Chopper complained. The droid had long since become the nanny, and as much as he protested the task, he took it very seriously.

“Lighten up, Chopper! Isn’t beautiful out here?” The girl’s face was glowing with excitement.

The droid complained more.

Dawn spun to face the droid in exaggerated insult. “Just sand?! But don’t you _love_ all the stars you can see here?”

Chopper made a surprised sound.

“Huh?” Dawn turned again, this time looking down over the dune they were standing on. Below them _had_ to be the crash sight. It had a concavity to it like a crater, but the slowly sliding sand meant that it displaced a lot of ground that was moving back into place. At the center was a cloud of airborne sand, and the ground was black glass where the heat melted and burned the desert. It was like lightning struck the sand along with whatever space debris fell.

“Something’s down there...” she was transfixed by the slight glow of the cloud at the base of the crater.

Chopper was _not_ happy. He tried to protest, waving his grasping arms in frenzied warning; but eventually threw them up in the air in defeat before retracting them and taking off after his charge. 

Meanwhile, the girl started sliding down the wall of the crater, being careful not to upset too much of the loosely thrown sand as she went. “Chopper, there’s something.... calling me... Or someone.” She stopped short of the center, hearing something grunting in discomfort. “Hello?”

“Ow...” The glow faded, and as it did a figure emerged from the smoke. “Who's there?” The man grunted, seeming to move with a limp.

Dawn froze, filled with confusion. “I’m Dawn. Who are you? Don’t you... have a ship?” The more the girl thought about it, the less it made sense. There was no bedris that wasn’t shattered desert glass. No ship parts, not even a _hint_ of an escape pod. She started to feel a knot of fear catch in her chest and turned to Chopper, but before she could do or say anything the astromech made a relieved noise and started moving to the strange man.

“Chopper?” He said in confusion. “This might be a first, but I’m glad to see you.”

The grumpy little droid retorted teasingly.

“Hey watch it!” the man scolded flatly.

Before Dawn knew it, the man was leaning on her mother’s droid to stand, holding a conversation as if they were long lost friends. “Who _are_ you?” She repeated, now less afraid but more confused -- forgetting all about the feeling from the Force that had brought her out here in the first place.

“My name is Kanan.” And for the first real time, he looked at the girl, at least as much as he could using the Force. A wide, loving smile crossed his face. “I’m an ‘old friend’ of you mother’s.”

“Of Mom’s?”

Just then the sound of an engine came to the edge of the crater. “Dawn! Chopper!”

“Mom?!” In an instant, the girl knew what happened and she turned with a glared to the droid. “You didn’t?!”

The little mech threw its grabbers up in a shrug, making some excuse-like mumble.

“Dawn you are in so much-”

“Hera?” The man interjected calmly, but with a twinge of disbelief in his voice.

There was silence for a beat, and then the sound of an engine revving. Hera launched the custom landspeeder she was “test driving” over the lip of the crater, landing it deftly next to the party in the basin. Before anyone could do anything she disembarked and threw her arms around the bearded man from the sky. “Kanan” she half-cried, half-scolded as she buried her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace. Somewhere deep inside, Dawn knew what this meant, but it was hard for her mind to wrap around it.

Chopper rolled away, waving his arms and chittering which sounded like the droid-equivalent of rolling one’s eyes. He headed to the landspeeder, catching Dawn by the wrist and pulling her along as he went. The girl was absolutely confused - heart and mind. Sitting in the landspeeder, she asked her Mother’s astromech, “Chop? Is.. Is that my father?”


	3. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanan enjoys a moment’s peace at the side of his beloved. He has a lot to catch up on after these 10 years… a lot of missed time to make up for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really just want to thank everyone whose commented or left kudos for this story! When I started this I was sure that it wouldn't be noticed at all, so I've been on cloud 9 receiving this kind of support so soon after posting this!! I love and adore all of you, and I just can't express how encouraging it is to see this kind of reception! Honestly, thank you from the bottom of my heart! <3<3
> 
> EDIT [June 11, 2018]: Edited for typo/missing word/grammar errors and refreshed some of the descriptors and dialogue.

The morning sun filtered in softly through the bedroom window, warming Kanan’s uncovered shoulder in the icy-cool of the morning. It wouldn’t be long before the twin suns of the desert planet started once-again scorching this side of it’s surface, but for now a pleasant chill filled the master bedroom of the small Tatooine flat, making it that much sweeter to be holding the love of his life curled tightly against his chest. He could hear her breathing softly, and it filled him with a content peace that he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.

He traced a hand gently along her back, admiring the smooth skin and delicate curves that she hid under her armored flight suit most of the time. _If only I could see you like this..._ he thought, imagining what the sun must look like on her lovely, green complexion. Though he could sense her being through the Force, he’d lost his sight long ago. He felt no ranker about losing it, but it was still a source of regret. Maybe if he’d have been more disciplined as a master, his padawan would not have been tempted as he was... or maybe it was fated to be, no matter what he did. Either way, there was no point of being angry about it, especially what appeared to be more than 10 years later.

“What are you thinking about, Love?” Hera said softly, brushing Kanan’s long hair out of his face.

“A lot of things,” he replied quietly, almost conflicted. “You,” he corrected, before diving to plant a kiss on the side of her neck.

Hera couldn’t help but giggle, before pushing herself back from her beloved. “Kanan!” she laughed quietly, trying to keep her voice down.

“Well that was cute,” he teased with a mischievous expression on his face.

Hera chuckled, “Kanan. I know something’s bothering you, so talk to me.”

He sighed playfully. Of course he wanted to talk to her about everything that was bothering him. He had lots of questions, about her and Dawn, as well as the rest of their friends; but he also wanted to savor this time with her without having to worry about anyone or anything else. “It’s just hard to believe it’s been 10 years. I’m sure so much has changed.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. He didn’t like feeling vulnerable, and would have preferred to keep hiding it under his “cowboy” bravado; but then again, she was the one person he knew would love and accept him even for all his flaws.

“You were gone a long time,” Hera admitted, “but Ezra could still feel your presence somewhere far away. And I.. I hoped you were alive. I didn't know what else to do...”

Kanan couldn’t entirely figure out Hera’s tone. Had she not believed Ezra? Or did she somehow feel responsible for her loved-one’s disappearance? Did she feel guilty for not trying to find him? “You had more important things to deal with. Like Dawn,” he said firmly, trying to somehow reassure her that things were okay - that she hadn’t failed anyone.

“Yes but-”

“And besides, I ... I had no choice. Before I knew what happened, I’d been pulled into this... place.”

Hera looked up and Kanan with confused concern. “Kanan?” She asked hesitantly, “Where were you?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It was strange. I felt more connected to the Force there, to all the life in the galaxy. But I couldn’t find you. I tried for so long. But I just couldn’t sort through it all to find you. Or anyone specific. I just felt so much.”

“And you were ... pulled? By what?”

“It was the Force. I think. When it happened, I _felt_ it pulling on me. And when I acknowledged it, everything was gone. I was gone. Even now, I’m not completely sure where I had been taken.”

“Then how did you get back?”

Kanan shook his head a bit, “I.. had resigned myself to it. To feeling only the ebb and flow of energy through me. To the feeling of life all around me, and the way the Force moved between every piece of matter. How it seemed to create paths to and from places fluidly, and then changed them almost randomly. It’s... really hard to explain, but I think I learned to travel somehow.”

“Okay...” Hera was hesitant, but trying to understand. Kanan couldn’t blame her, after all, he’d _experienced_ it and it still sounded completely crazy. “Can the Force do that?”

“Back on Lothal, the Loth-wolves took us through a path in the mountains that somehow led to a cave on the other side of the planet. I think that was a Vergence. Like the Jedi temple on Coruscant.”

“A Vergence?”

“It’s a sort of energy nexus - a place where the Force is drawn to or is highly concentrated. Most Jedi Temples are build on sites like these.”

“So do you think that _place_ was a Vergence?”

“I don’t know yet... but right before I crashed here, I heard the voice of the Loth-wolf say my name.”

“So .... the Loth-wolves taught you how to travel with the Force?”

“Well if you say it like that it sounds crazy!” He smirked.

Hera burst out laughing and kissed Kanan. “I don’t begin to understand, Love, but we have plenty of time to figure it out.”

He smiled and held her close, hiding the unsurety that was creeping across his face. He wasn’t completely sure they did have time; he’d been pulled away once, and he had no idea whether he could stop it if it happened again. But he didn't really want to think about that right then. Instead, he opted to change the subject before Hera got suspicious. “So what is she like?”

“Dawn? She’s very smart. And she’s definitely _your_ daughter.”

“Oh? And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“The amount of trouble she gets into!” Hera chuckled before continuing,” And she’s Force-sensitive.”

“I can tell.”

“Ezra tried to teach her how to conceal it. But he wasn’t able to stay long or really start training her properly.”

“Oh yeah? And how is my Padawan?”

“Well, he’s grown up a lot. He left the Alliance after Yavin 4, but he’s been around every once in awhile. It’s been a long time since I've seen him though.”

“What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know," Hera shook her head. "He helped us get settled here when Dawn was still young, and he came to check on us about 4 years ago... but I haven’t heard from him since. He said he had important things to get back to, but managed to change the subject any time I asked him what.” Kanan could tell that Hera was worried about the young man, but that she was also trying not to worry his teacher. They'd been a sort of foster family for Ezra when he joined the crew of the Ghost, and both Kanan and Hera had grown to care for the boy as more than just a crew-mate. Truth was, the whole crew was like a family. Mom and dad, two kids, two strange uncles, and a pet droid. Normal family, right?

“And what about the others? Sabine, Zeb, Kallus?”

“Well Sabine went back to Mandalore. Zeb and Alexsandr stayed on with the Rebellion; Zeb still sends messages every now and then to keep me updated.”

“I see. So the crew ended up spl-”

Kanan was interrupted by an aggressive clanging on the garage door on the other side of the house. Hera closed her eyes, irritatedly. “That would be the ‘gentleman’ who owns the landspeeder,” she sighed.

Kanan sighed as well. “I guess that means we can’t just go back to sleep, right?”


	4. Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much has happened in the last day that Dawn needs to find a space to clear her mind, but how will she fare when the thugs of Mos Zabu break into her favorite hiding spot?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had some homework that got in the way of writing this chapter. I'd intended it to be out yesterday, but that didn't happen. Sorry!
> 
> Also, I re-read what I posted to get back into the mindset to write this and.... I left so many typos oh my goodness! Bless you all for ignoring those! Haha! (I'll come back and clean those up when/if I hit a writing block.)
> 
> EDIT: I just wanted to apologize for the poor quality of this chapter, I missed a lot of typos and formatting (like more than the other chapters). I've fixed it and I think it reads a little better/more easily... Thank you for bearing with me!
> 
> EDIT [June 11, 2018]: Re-edited this for typo/missing word/grammar errors, and updated descriptors and dialogue. Oh boy I really need a beta for this project ^^;

The whole morning had been a mess. It started with Chopper preventing her from leaving the house, and now her mom was getting yelled at by the thug with the landspeeder. All the while, she was basically being held captive at the kitchen table by this long-haired weirdo who _might_ be her father. Dawn was not happy.

She could hear parts of the “conversation” her mother was having, and was getting angrier by the minute. She stared at the wall past Kanan, daring him to react or say anything at all. _How could this guy be the one her mother wished for so much? He’s not even batting an eyelash at the way she’s being treated! He’s just sitting here peacefully as if nothing’s happening!_

Down the hall in the garage, Dawn heard her mother’s voice. “Please understand, I had to test it in conditions similar to what it’ll face in-”

“Are you suggestin’ that I’m _rough_ on my speeder, Mrs. Dume?” Apparently the thug didn’t like what Hera was suggesting, or else he was still upset that he lost whatever fight that got his landspeeder totaled.

“No! No, that’s not what I was saying, just that I needed to make sure my repairs would stand in _worse_ conditions than it would normally face! It’s a safety precaution!” Hera quickly corrected, making sure that the possible hint of failure would be lain on herself - not the fool who couldn’t evade a few blaster shots.

“Is that right,” the guy said flatly, obviously not sure Hera believed what she was saying. But it was apparently good enough for the jerk, because soon after, Dawn could hear the speeder start and leave the garage. She also heard the garage door close heavy, and then a relieved sigh. 

Her mom walked down the hall towards them at the kitchen table. As she approached, Kanan spoke without turning around. “Mrs. Dume?”

“I needed a name that couldn’t be traced to the Rebellion.” She sounded tired, and vaguely defensive. Dawn wasn’t sure what was going on. She’d always known that their family name was “Syndulla”, but people only ever called her and her mother “Dume”. The girl had always assumed that “Dume” was something her mom made up when they arrived on Tatooine.

“That works I guess. But I’m not going back to ‘Caleb’,” he said with a chuckle, as he stood up to meet Hera. He put an arm around her in support. “Does that happen often?” He asked seriously.

Dawn wasn’t sure why he bothered asking, since he _obviously_ didn’t care enough to try and stop it. Her mom may have answered the overly-friendly man, but the girl was consumed by her own thoughts. She was frustrated, and couldn’t help feel out of the loop in her own home. What were these names? What did they mean? Didn’t he say his name was ‘Kanan’? She was confused, but that wasn’t it. She knew there were things her mother hadn’t explained, but she trusted her mother. It just sucked, because Dawn was full of curiosity and the desire to be able to help her family. _But all the sudden, this stranger arrives and knows more about Mom than I do?!_

The girl didn’t feel hungry. There was too much to think about -- too much to sort out before she could begin feeling anything normal like like that. As the adults made breakfast, smiling and laughing like nothing had changed, Dawn pushed away from the table and snuck away. She shot a glare at the known tattle-tail of an astromech before sneaking out the back door. She heard him tell on her anyway, but she didn’t care. She just ran.

* * * 

Mos Zabu was a speck of a town, at risk of being blown away by any given sand storm. It’s only saving grace was the immense sandstone wall that the original settlement was built into. It wasn’t a mountain, more of a petrified sand dune that was both created and uncovered by Tatooine’s savage weather patterns. No one really knows how they were formed, but the dune is host to a complex set of tunnels and caves that are said to stretch under the town and deep into the desert; which made it the perfect place for an upset little girl to hide.

Even though she had to cross through the old town, which had long been taken over by the local gang, she made her way to the caves. Most people were too afraid of getting lost to go into them, but Dawn had been traveling there most of her life. It called to her, and comforted her. Somehow she always knew where she was and how to get around in those tunnels. She talked to Ezra about it when he’d last come to visit. He said it reminded him of the Jedi temple on Lothal, and told her about the wild things that he’d experienced with his Master there. Of course he’d also warned her about going there alone and that she should be mindful. _What is it with adults? They know stuff but they won’t tell me about it! It’s not like I’m gonna’ get scared!_

She arrived and ducked into a shaft that was so short that even she had to crouch to get into it. She followed it until it led into a huge antechamber. It was quiet - serene - and completely dark. It took no time at all for her eyes to adjust and for her to start seeing the features of the room, including the gentle, pulsing glow of hundreds of little blue lights on the ceiling of the cave. She loved this place; it was so beautiful, and the lights always seemed to welcome her. It was her personal sanctuary.

She glanced around to see if anything had changed since she’d last hidden there to escape the world. Some rocks seemed to have fallen here and there, but nothing too far out of place. She traced her fingers along the wall as she passed, glancing at the cave paintings she’d admired many times before. She hadn’t made them and she wasn’t really sure what they meant, but she was always careful not to disturb them. That didn’t stop her, however, from adding to them from time to time. Her drawings weren’t quite so cryptic as the dot-and-line filled animals and people: her mother, chopper, herself, some of the kids in town before they moved away, even some vignettes of when she’d outrun the town thugs and was especially proud of herself.

She stopped in front of one painting in particular. It showed her with her mother on one side, and a Twi’lek man on the other. He had a scarf over his eyes, and a lightsaber in one hand. Dawn scowled. “She never told me much about you...” she muttered only loud enough for herself to hear, “I thought I knew what to expect.” There wasn’t a point in being quiet here, but there wasn’t a point in yelling either.

“I don’t get it.” She dropped down to lounge in the nest of blankets that she’d long since made for herself there. “I guess he could be my dad but he’s ... I don’t even know. All he said was ‘old friend of mom’s’.” She looked up at the lights on the ceiling, almost as if asking them what they thought. They pulsed soothingly and consistently, as they had for years. Receiving no reply, she frowned loudly and turned on her side to reached for the necklace hanging from the wall. It had a crystal on it that Ezra had given her: a Kyber crystal, he’d called it. He’d asked her to keep it safe for him, in that way that adults do when they give kids something important and want them not to lose it or show it off. She held it up and looked at it for a while. “Why did I have such a strong feeling before? Why did I _know_ I needed to go to that white light? Was it the Force?” She squinted into the crystal, as if somehow Ezra - the only _real_ Force-user she knew - would answer her from wherever he was in the universe. 

Just then, it flashed a pale light deep in the core of the rock. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin! “What was that?!” She looked into the crystal again, but it didn’t respond. She did, however, catch the light of the chamber ceiling change in her peripheral vision. Those ethereal, eternally calm lights were pulsing erratically for some reason. Was it reacting to the kyber crystal? Or her question? “Well that’s new...”

“Ar- are you answering me?” She felt only a little silly asking the ceiling outright, but to be honest she’d talked “to herself” in that cavern so many times that it wasn’t really all that strange. She held the necklace up towards the ceiling, which seemed to focus some of the lights out of their frenzy. “What do you want from me?” She was growing more and more confused, but this confusion somehow felt better than thinking about her parents, so she continued investigating. It didn’t take long for her to figure out that the lights that were calmed by the kyber crystal seemed to be directing her towards one of the tunnels that this chamber connects to.

“So... in there?” She looked skeptically at the ceiling before shrugging and entering. She’d been there hundreds of times before, so she was sure what she was going to find. It was blocked by a huge rock with some things painted on it. She remembered sitting one night looking at it and deciding that the cave went further, but that this rock had somehow been put there ages ago. It just looked so different from the rest of the cavern, and it looked so purposefully carved into a sphere that she didn’t see how it could have been natural. After Ezra’s last visit, she liked to pretend that it was put there by Jedi, and that she had to pass trials like climbing the walls or fighting imaginary ghosts to get into it. It was great fun, but now something felt like maybe she shouldn’t have been playing that way -- maybe it was a game.

Suddenly something started shaking the cavern. Dawn fell to the ground, dropping the crystal. She couldn’t make it out, but it almost sounded like blaster fire. Had those thugs figured out she was in here?! She tried to find the kyber crystal, but the lights in the cave were going wild, almost like they were warning her to get out of there. There was a crash somewhere down one of the corredores. Dawn spotted the crystal and snatched it up before making for one of the tunnels that lead near the sound. As much as she was afraid of getting caught by the gang, she wasn’t going to turn her back on the one place on this insufferable planet that was _hers_.

She figured out it was the corredor close to where she got in. There were more blasting sounds and explosions, and this time the sound of yelling and footsteps. “You find ‘er?” a voice called. “Not yet! Ya’ think she was spyin’ on us boss?!” another yelled back. “Won’t know ‘till we get that brat!” That voice she recognized: it was her mother’s “customer” from earlier - the gang’s second in command. “Not get you asses in gear, before the Chief gets back!”

 _This isn’t good. This is very not good. They’re going to tear this place apart!!_ Dawn knew this place backwards and forwards, and so she knew the one place she could lead those goons that they couldn’t hurt it. She hesitated just around the corner from them, then when she was sure that all the goons that were coming in had been dropped into the tunnel, she threw a big rock. Dawn waited only long enough to know that she’d gotten their attention and then bolted. They called out to each other, coordinating and complaining about the dark.

She ran noisily, leading them through her sanctuary, noting that the lights had completely gone from the ceiling, then ducking into a slightly tighter tunnel. This one ran away from the “Jedi Rock”, as she called it to herself only, and under the middle of Mos Zabu. At this point, she was starting to wear out. _I have to keep going_ , she told herself, wiping sweat from under her chin. She looked down at the kyber crystal before starting off again. But there was a problem: she heard an explosion for ahead. _Dammit._ She heard footsteps closing fast from both directions. She tried to duck into a small hole, but there was no point. She was surrounded.

“Get ‘er!” The leader yelled.

Dawn clutched the crystal close. _Help me._

The thugs launched, but everything changed. The cavern started to glow brightly and they froze. Then Dawn head the straggling gangsters start yelling something. “What the hell?!” and other variations. There was a sound like she’d never heard before, and then suddenly several men were thrown down the corridor just past her. “Who the hell are you?!” Their leader called. Dawn poked her head out of the hole she’d been backed into to see a blind man with long hair and a light saber - a _real_ light saber - standing there looking pissed.

“I’m her father,” he said calmly.

The boss flipped. He turned to his men and yelled, “What are you fucks doing?! GET HIM!”

The goons jumped, but they were no match for the old Jedi. Some brandished blasters, but Kanan deftly dodged their fire and brought his saber down on the weapons, cutting them into pieces. A pair came up behind him, but a swift force-push sent them back through the hole they’d entered from. Kanan methodically made his way through the thugs with practiced ease. He bent down and offered a hand to the girl. “Let's go home, Dawn.”

Dawn hesitated a little, but took his hand. He pulled her up, and for the first time she got a good look at the carnage her dad had wrought. Her expression changed from fright to concern to awe. Maybe he _was_ the Master Jedi that her mom always told her about.

“Are you okay?” Kanan’s voice was steady and comforting, but also concerned.

“I’m fine,” she replied, but with reservation.

“Why did you run off, Dawn?” Her dad’s voice was gentle and even. She expected to be scolded for getting into this much trouble, but he wasn’t the slightest bit chiding or condescending. It was an honest question to a capable young person - which she didn’t feel like at the moment. _He really wants to know...?_

Dawn glanced at the crystal in her hand, then looked up at Kanan. She grabbed his hand again and started pulling him towards the antechamber. “C’mon! I wanna show you something!”

Kanan fought a grin and a raised an eyebrow, and retracted his lightsaber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is somewhat of a cliff-hanger (or cave? hanger??)! I prefer to complete a concept per chapter, but I think the next part needs to be from Kanan's point of view. Honestly, this chapter really started evolving to have a life of its own! Like it's really taken a complete right turn from what I had outlined and, if I'm honest, this is much better. Please tell me what you think!!
> 
> I started looking at where I want this to end and where I am now and, well let's just say this is the most ambitious writing project I've had so hopefully I'll be able to entertain you all for a good while! <3


	5. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanan feels really new to this father thing, and it only gets worse when he realizes his daughter has run off in wake of all that’s happened; but a touch of danger works to bridge the gap between he and his headstrong daughter. Dawn really is too much like her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! This long-overdue chapter is out! Final exams really kicked my butt for a while, but I'm on vacation now so these should come more frequently for a while. Sorry for the wait!
> 
> EDIT [June 11, 2018]: HAHA I LIED. It's been what? Half a year since I posted this chapter?! I'm so sorry. In some combination of excuses, I'm in my senior year of undergraduate engineering and just absolutely dying all the time, and Rebels came off of hiatus and there was a lot to process. Now I'm finally caught up with the series (and i think i can work with what happened) and I've decided to force myself to take the time to write again, I can continue this story! 
> 
> Clearly this is going to diverge from canon, but isn't that better in some cases? *cough*kanan*cough* And honestly, I set this so far out from what Rebels could touch on purpose so that I could just ignore what happened if the final episodes went the way we were afraid they would. That being said, I'm actually really glad my "force pocket dimension" idea has some credence now!
> 
> Anyway, edited this chapter for typos, missing words, and grammar errors, as well as corrected some of the descriptions and emotional content. Wish me luck on the next chapter! Oh! And thank you all so much for commenting and leaving kudos! I promise I'll try harder to live up to your expectations!

Kanan felt really new to this father thing. He’d spend so long alone in that Force-void, imagining what it would be like to settle down with Hera, raise children, and just have a normal life without the empire or the rebellion getting in the way; but this... wasn’t going the way he’d hoped. He honestly wasn’t sure what to say or where to start with Dawn. He didn’t want to scare her and, if he was honest, he was afraid of being rejected. It was an indescribable feeling; she already meant so much to him, just knowing he was her father. But what if she never came to accept him? The kid had already lived so much of her life without Kanan... what if she didn’t need him?

So when Chopper pointed out that “dad” didn’t even notice Dawn leave the breakfast table, he knew he was already off to a very bad start. _How could I be so stupid?!_ But this wasn’t the time to be dwelling on mistakes; his daughter was missing and, by Hera’s expression, she was in grave danger.

“There’s only two places she ever goes when she’s upset, and I’m going to hope it’s not those caves,” Hera said, when agreeing to split up and look for their daughter. “I’ll check below the cliff - sometimes she goes and hides in the Ghost.... You head for the sandstone wall. That’s where her caves are. It’s surrounded by some pretty unsavory characters, though...”

“Like that ‘customer’ of yours?”

“Exactly. He happens to be one of the leaders of those thugs - Redsand Raiders they call themselves.”

Kanan did _not_ like the sound of that. He darted across town and through the gang’s territory, able to sense their presence and swiftly avoid any unwanted attention. He made his way towards the cave entrances, but as he progressed he noticed a commotion. His stomach sank. There were groups of thugs trying to blast into the caves from a spot on the side of the wall. _Please don’t be in there,_ he thought as he took a moment to focus himself. Kanan thought about Dawn, her energies, and the way she interacts with the Force around her. He mentally reached out for that feeling, and found his “vision” rushing through the Force-rich cave system to where she was. He saw her .. egging the thugs on?! _She really is my daughter, isn’t she!_ He couldn’t help but being a little proud of her. He also couldn’t help wondering what the hell was going through that head of hers!

Kanan headed for the part of the cave that the thugs had blasted through. He lept into it without hesitation, wasting no time knocking out the guards and following where he’d seen his daughter. He chased through the antechamber, which somehow seemed “bright” to his force-vision, and into a corridor. He could tell there were lots of those bastards filling the tunnel. For him, it wouldn’t be anything new: avoid blaster shots, take out their weapons, incapacitate the enemies. But he worried about Dawn. She’d likely never seen combat, let alone a horde of enemies gunning for you.

“Help me,” his daughter’s voice whispered through the cave, or maybe just in his mind? Before Kanan could really process it clearly, a bright light overtook the tunnel and ran through the cave system, surprising the goons up ahead and washing over Kanan with a warm, familiar energy. He had an instantaneous realization: it was the Force, alright, and he knew exactly where it came from. Kanan leapt into action, deftly taking out weapons and forcing his way into the corridor, unaffected by the physical brightness of the energy, and moving down the tunnels. 

The thugs were completely taken by surprise, so by the time they noticed Kanan it was far too late. “What the hell?!” one yelled. “Where’d he come from” another hollered, as he was Force-pushed into several of his compatriots.

“Who the hell are you?!” The apparent leader yelled, incredulously. Kanan recognized this guy as the dick who was yelling at Hera earlier; and if that wasn’t enough to boil his blood, the thug boss was menacingly close to where Dawn was hiding.

“I’m her father,” the old Jedi said, mustering an unnerving calm over uncharacteristic the anger he felt. As a Jedi, he been trained to control his emotions. He’d even scolded his Padawan, years ago, for using the Force emotionally; but this somehow wasn’t the same. He felt coldly in control of his rage, and knew just how to unleash it.

“What are you fucks doing?! GET HIM!” The Redsand leader yelled, but Kanan was not phased. As some thugs jumped to attack, Kanan just smoothly avoided them, effortlessly using the Force to send them flying or slam them concussively into the cave walls. He made quick work of his enemies, leaving unconscious goons and melted blaster pieces everywhere. He turned to the leader of the gang, expecting one last opponent; but after witnessing how fast all his men went down, their leader wasn't willing to take that chance. The bastard turned and ran towards the closest hole his men had blasted through the cave wall!

Kanan sighed, feeling the tension and emotion release from his core. _That was a lot easier than I expected._ He turned to where his daughter was hiding in the wall and leaned down to offer her a hand. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” Dawn replied, not meeting his eyes. Kanan tried to hold back a smile. She was only 10 years old, but he could see a lot maturity in that young girl. She'd obviously devised some sort of plan in the heat of the moment to take care of the ruffians and was doing her best to execute it. It wasn't really anything but inexperience that got her cornered, and truth was, this was exactly the sort of plan Kanan would have come up with, himself! How could he be mad at that?

 _But why was she trying to lead them away, instead of running?_ Maybe she was a little too much like her father, but there had to be a reason she’d risk herself like that. Hera would have taught her better. “Why did you come here, Dawn?” Kanan asked.

Dawn seemed to weigh something heavily - apparently he’d asked a difficult question. She glanced at a crystal that she'd been clutching tightly in her fist, and then looked back up with determination in her eye. “C’mon! I wanna show you something!” she shouted, grabbing her father by the wrist. Before he knew it, Kanan was being pulled off his feet by the little girl!

She dragged him through the tunnels, forcing him to to dodge low-hanging rocks that Dawn clearly never had to worry about or even notice, until they reached the big cavern in the center of the cave system. He recalled passing through the chamber earlier while chasing after Dawn, but hadn’t had the chance to really inspect it until now. “This place is amazing Dawn,” he said awestruck.

“Yeah! It’s my secret.” She released his wrist and walked over to her nest. “Mom doesn’t like it when I come here, but she doesn’t understand.”

Kanan took a deep breath. The Force was strong here, emanating from everywhere, and making the whole cavern _breathed_ with life energy. _I understand,_ Kanan thought. He focused himself, trying to take in the details of his setting. “So you come here a lot?”

“Kinda...” The girl seemed reticent again. “I... feel better when I come here,” she said hesitantly. Kanan couldn’t decide if she was worried to talk about the place or if she was just shy talking to him about her feelings.

“The Force is strong here. It’s natural that it would make you feel better.” Kanan wandered over to where his daughter was standing on a pile of blankets. There were trinkets and odd treasures that only a child would find valuable scattered around. It reminded him a little of how Ezra always kept his room. Children don’t feel like they have a lot of control over their lives, so they collect things. Sometimes they are valuable, and sometimes they are only important because the child feels they are. Kanan knelt next to Dawn, “Dawn, I understand. A lot has changed in the matter of a day and-”

Dawn’s eyes, which had been firmly planted at the ground, darted up to her cave paintings and then back down to the ground. Kanan followed her glance. With the amount of Force energy surrounding him, and a lot of focus he could start to make out the texture of the stone, and where it was smoothed out by what he assumed to be paint. There were various drawings, but one stuck out to him like a knife in his chest. It was some kind of imagined family portrait, showing Hera and Dawn and a Twi’lek Jedi. He turned his focus to Dawn, who looked upset in a way that Kanan couldn’t quite interpret. He took another deep breath, “And there have been a lot of surprises lately.”

He stepped away, choosing the give the girl space. He tried to turn his attention to other things: the ancient cave paintings that depict a familiar set of imagery, the crystalline canopy of the cave that glowed with soothing pulses, the collection of strange items his daughter had assembled over the years; but it didn’t really help him.

Dawn turned to face the ceiling. She held up the crystal, and watched the lights dim and change to match. After an uncomfortable pause she spoke again, “Why did you come after me?”

Kanan was shocked by the question: the answer seemed so obvious to him! “I was worried about you!” He blurted without a moment’s hesitation. Kanan turned to look at her, even if it wasn’t necessary any more. “Dawn. I... I’m sorry.”

The girl looked up at him, confused. She looked incredulous and upset and like she had ten-billion questions all at once. She didn’t say anything though, so Kanan continued.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t been here. And that I’m ... not what you hoped for.” He felt out of place. Of course his daughter would imagine a Twi’lek dad. And Hera probably never thought twice about _telling _Dawn that her father was a human from Coruscant. What difference does it make? Well none to a grown-up. But when you are a child, your imagination takes the shape of what you know. And when things don’t turn out to be the way you imagine them, everyone is at least a little disappointed.__

__Dawn looked up at Kanan. He tried to hide his hurt by turning to face the ceiling, but the girl had already seen enough to understand. “It’s okay. Mom said you didn’t have a choice.”_ _

__There was quiet. Kanan didn’t know what to do._ _

__“And Ezra said that the Force took you. That we just had to wait for it to give you back...”_ _

__“Yeah... That’s right. I couldn’t do anything to stop it,” his tone made no excuses, but was filled with regret. “But I’m back now, and I won’t leave you or Hera again.” He looked his daughter squarely in the face with that promise. He knew he had a lot to do to earn his daughter's trust, but he hoped that this would be a good way to start._ _

__They stayed in the cavern for a while, forgetting about the dozens of unconscious men strewn in the tunnels leading to and from this cavern. Dawn showed Kanan all of her treasures and told him the stories that went along with her paintings. For his part, Kanan told Dawn about how he lost his sight, Bendu, and how he learned to see using the Force._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure I'll do another pair of chapters like this. I think it was important for the development of emotions, but I'm afraid it might have turned out boring or repetitive. Please tell me what you think.


	6. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn finally gets the father-daughter bonding she's always wanted, but when push comes to shove will she be able to cope with Kanan's unconventional style of parenting?

Dawn’s chin rest sleepily on her crossed arms as she rested on her father’s lap. He held her kyber crystal in front of them as he talked about what it was and what it meant to the Jedi. It was nice - comfortable and safe, and Dawn felt like she could have stayed there for hours. When she’d dragged the old Jedi into the ‘Jedi Rock’ tunnel after showing off all her favorite treasures and cave paintings, she was thrilled to see Kanan’s expression. He looked as excited as she’d felt when she first discovered it!

Since then, they’d been talking for a long time about the Jedi order, its teachings and now the crystal. The two had settled somewhere in the middle of the chamber, facing the looming boulder blocking the continuation of the path.

Dawn desperately tried to hold onto consciousness as her dad’s even, reassuring voice echoed lightly off the walls. That is, until the communicator in Kanan’s pocket crackled to life. The girl squeaked as she jumped out of her drowsiness, and her dad’s lap!

“Specter One, we have trouble,” Hera’s voice shattered the calm, catching both ‘husband’ and daughter’s attention. They shared a look of concern and surprise before jumping to their feet.

Kanan dug the comm unit out of his pocket and barked into it: “Specter Two, I’m here, and I’ve got Specter Seven.”

“Specter...Seven?” Dawn puzzled more to herself than actually asking.

“It’s the code names we used on your mother’s ship when we used to fly for the rebellion.” Kanan handed the crystal back to its rightful owner. He looked back at the boulder one more time before heading out into the main cavern again.

“Okay but why is Mom ‘Spector Two’ if she’s the captain?” Dawn questioned as she trotted up to her Dad’s side.

When she caught up to him, he was standing still in the middle of the room, and looked like he was focusing on something. His arms were out motioning like he was gently reaching for something that wasn’t there. Dawn tilted her head to one side, then the other. Then a spark lit in her eyes as she realized what he must be doing. She trotted past him towards a tunnel - one thankfully untouched by the thugs that had long since snuck out for fear of the blind Jedi - and shouted, “This way!”

Kanan jolted out of his semi-meditative focus. He quirked an eyebrow, but smiled and caught up to his daughter. As soon as he was within range, she grabbed his wrist again and started running! “How did you know?” He managed to question as he dodged stalactites and avoided concussion.

“It’s really hard to find things in here unless you just trust it,” Dawn knew it wasn’t a great explanation, but she could never figure out how else to explain it or even think about it. But that’s the thing about feeling - instinct - it’s such an intuitive understanding that there really _aren’t_ any words for it. It did kind’a bother her that she didn’t know why or how it worked this way, but she did know that in these caves you can’t look for things. You just have to trust it’s there and that it’ll show up when you get there. “I’ve tried a lot, you can’t feel for it, you just have to go!”

“W-what!?” Somewhere between dodging rocks and trying to decipher Dawn’s cryptic explanation, her Dad clearly wasn’t understanding. She didn’t blame him -- she doubted that she, herself, would understand if she didn’t just know it. But regardless of Kanan’s questioning, he still followed. She knew he had enough strength to pull her off the ground and stop her from dragging him if he wanted to, but he didn’t.

“Trust me!” The girl grinned, knowing he already did.

In moments Dawn’s eyes were flooded by the desert suns’ bright burning light. It was way more blinding and disorienting that she’d expected, and soon she felt her dad pulling back on her grip on his wrist; not to break free. By the time here eyes had adjusted, her dad had hidden them against the back wall of a tavern. They were a mile away from where they started, and smack in the middle of town. The portly old bar keep stepped to see what the noise was in his garbage pile, but didn’t even look up from under his excessively bushy eyebrows. He just snorted - Dawn knew it as a laugh - and went back inside.

“Friend of yours?” Kanan asked with a raised eyebrow and a twinge of incredulousness.

“Yep! He lets me hide under the bar sometimes, when the Raiders chace me.” She didn’t detect anything wrong with that statement and didn’t really detect the questioning expression on her dad’s face, so she continued. “Anyway, we’re not far from home, just a few blocks!”

Suddenly, Kanan’s communicator crackled to life again, but it wasn’t Hera’s voice that came through. Instead, it was Chopper’s harried chirping - and cussing - that barked from the device. A pit stone dropped into Dawn’s stomach as she heard the ambient commotion clattering through the droid’s comm unit along with his message.

“This is bad, sounds like they were ambushed at the shop.” It shocked the girl that her dad could stay so calm in a situation like this.

Her mind was buzzing with worry, “Then we need to get there!” She squealed, maybe a little too loudly.

“Wait. I’ve got a better idea. Where’s the Ghost from here?” There was an almost mischievous expression on Kanan’s face, which Dawn throught was possibly the least ‘dad-like’ thing anyone could do at a time like this.

“It’s in the opposite direction!” The worried - and now confused - girl fussed, jutting a pointed finger in the direction of the cliff.

Kanan kneeled down in front of his daughter and reassuringly put his hands on her shoulders. “Dawn, we’ll be able to reach them faster in the Ghost. I need you to trust me.” His face looks almost pleading, like he didn’t expect she would and was asking permission to do things his way.

The girl looked at the ground beneath them. _He trusted me immediately..._ Everything was happening too quickly for her to think. Her mind raced with questions, but the more she thought, the more she realized that every doubt - every fear - led back to the way it felt sitting with him in her play-pretend Jedi Temple. “Okay,” she said resolutely, looking up with a determined expression. “It’s this way!” She pushed out of his grasp with a confident grin and darted off.

She didn’t look back to see him shake his head with humor, as he stood and started running after her. She knew he was there though; she could sense where he was and when he caught up just behind her. “It’s at the bottom, under the cliff!” Her lungs burned from the blistering air heaving in and out of her chest, but she didn’t care. She led him through the back alleys of Mos Zabu’s commercial district, through a small neighborhood, and off into the open desert at the peak of the petrified dune the settlement was built on. “There’s a tunnel not far from here that we’ll have to use to get to the Ghost,” she hollered behind her.

“That’ll take too long,” is all Kanan said before grabbing the girl around the waist before leaping them off the edge! Dawn would have screamed if she’d been any less surprised. In seconds, though it felt longer than that to the girl not used to fore-assisted-acrobatics, they’d safely arrived on the hull of the Ghost with a graceful tumble.

“That wasn’t too bad!” Kanan chuckled, letting the girl down out of his arms. 

For a second here eyes stayed shut before opening wide with a wild look. “That was awesome!” she shouted excitedly, jumping up and down and grinning brightly up at her dad.

Kanan smiled proudly and laughed, “Haha just don’t tell your mother!”

Dawn felt a swell of pride as she watched Kanan take a hurried step off the edge of the ship. That is her _dad_ , and he’s fun and brave and gallant and strong and everything her mom said he was!

“You coming hun?” Kanan called from the ground, and without a second thought Dawn took a running leap off the side of the Ghost.


End file.
